Installation of VB6 on Windows 7 / 8 / 10 [duplicate]

Asked 8/5, 2012 at 9:6 Answered 8/5, 2012 at 15:42

Solved windows-7 vb6 installation legacy legacy-code

I have been having problems installing VB6 on Windows 7. I realize it is a legacy IDE and my research on the net hasn't been that much of help. Every time I attempt to install VB6 on Windows 7, besides the alert notifying me of compatibility issues, the setup runs and fails near the end, to which the installation process fails ultimately. And when another attempt is made, certain dll files are supposedly unreachable.

These are but some of the few links I have visited in the hopes of attaining a solution or even just seeing a few bread crumbs:

Before anyone says, "Why on earth would you want to install VB6 on Windows 7 when there are newer versions of Microsoft Visual Studio out!", VB6 is still required to maintain and update a legacy system already in place.

So the question(s) is, is there a way to install VB6 on Windows 7 without compatibility issues? Is it better to install a virtual box and to run the VB6 IDE in XP? Or is there some other means to which I have not encountered that may be applicable to this dilemma?

Ladon answered 8/5, 2012 at 9:6 Comment(9)

I installed it no problem on my 64-bit Win7. The only interesting thing about my system is that UAC is disabled. – Exemplary 8/5, 2012 at 9:10

+1 for disabling UAC for legacy installation packages. Mine is always off. – Obligatory 8/5, 2012 at 9:13

It runs just fine on Windows Server 2008 R2, which is basically just a 64-bit version of Windows 7. I have no compatibility issues. – Bova 8/5, 2012 at 9:21

Can you give any more detail on "fails near the end"? How does it fail? What message do you get? What happens? – Sula 8/5, 2012 at 10:12

No problems here on Win7 x64. Just create empty msjava.dll in SysWOW64 before running setup. – Amorist 8/5, 2012 at 10:29

Duplicates: VB6 IDE on Win 7 and bonus question does the VB6 IDE work on 64 bit Win 7 – Merryman 8/5, 2012 at 11:45

@Sula After ignoring the warning message of compatibility issues, the installation process continues up till around 80% and then jumps to what is perceived to be complete. After which a message is displayed saying that the installation did not complete successfully. After attempting a second time the process successfully installs and on attempting to run the program, it is missing dll files. I have searched for these dll files and arranged them to the appropriate file directories. It seams to be working now, but wow what a bloomin mission :P – Ladon 9/5, 2012 at 7:12

There is a VB6 installer wizard nuke.vbcorner.net that installs the VB6 programming IDE and the MSDN library on Windows 7, 8 or 10 (32bit or 64 bit). – Sooty 5/8, 2019 at 9:18

We still use VB6 for new development as well as maintenance. That's why being able to run it on Windows 10 is so important for us. – Jackinthebox 22/12, 2019 at 20:14

VB6 Installs just fine on Windows 7 (and Windows 8 / Windows 10) with a few caveats.

Here is how to install it:

Before proceeding with the installation process below, create a zero-byte file in C:\Windows called MSJAVA.DLL. The setup process will look for this file, and if it doesn't find it, will force an installation of old, old Java, and require a reboot. By creating the zero-byte file, the installation of moldy Java is bypassed, and no reboot will be required.
Turn off UAC.
Insert Visual Studio 6 CD.
Exit from the Autorun setup.
Browse to the root folder of the VS6 CD.
Right-click SETUP.EXE, select Run As Administrator.
On this and other Program Compatibility Assistant warnings, click Run Program.
Click Next.
Click "I accept agreement", then Next.
Enter name and company information, click Next.
Select Custom Setup, click Next.
Click Continue, then Ok.
Setup will "think to itself" for about 2 minutes. Processing can be verified by starting Task Manager, and checking the CPU usage of ACMSETUP.EXE.
On the options list, select the following:
- Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
- ActiveX
- Data Access
- Graphics
- All other options should be unchecked.
Click Continue, setup will continue.
Finally, a successful completion dialog will appear, at which click Ok. At this point, Visual Basic 6 is installed.
If you do not have the MSDN CD, clear the checkbox on the next dialog, and click next. You'll be warned of the lack of MSDN, but just click Yes to accept.
Click Next to skip the installation of Installshield. This is a really old version you don't want anyway.
Click Next again to skip the installation of BackOffice, VSS, and SNA Server. Not needed!
On the next dialog, clear the checkbox for "Register Now", and click Finish.
The wizard will exit, and you're done. You can find VB6 under Start, All Programs, Microsoft Visual Studio 6. Enjoy!
Turn On UAC again

You might notice after successfully installing VB6 on Windows 7 that working in the IDE is a bit, well, sluggish. For example, resizing objects on a form is a real pain.
After installing VB6, you'll want to change the compatibility settings for the IDE executable.
Using Windows Explorer, browse the location where you installed VB6. By default, the path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98\
Right click the VB6.exe program file, and select properties from the context menu.
Click on the Compatibility tab.
Place a check in each of these checkboxes:
Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
- Disable Visual Themes
- Disable Desktop Composition
- Disable display scaling on high DPI settings
- If you have UAC turned on, it is probably advisable to check the 'Run this program as an Administrator' box

After changing these settings, fire up the IDE, and things should be back to normal, and the IDE is no longer sluggish.

Edit: Updated dead link to point to a different page with the same instructions

Edit: Updated the answer with the actual instructions in the post as the link kept dying

Cicatrize answered 8/5, 2012 at 15:42 Comment(13)

The link is dead again! You can find it on wayback machine here: web.archive.org/web/20140605112439/http://www.derekwirch.com/…. – Cogency 27/8, 2014 at 7:43

@Cogency - Thanks, I have copied in the instrcutions now – Cicatrize 27/8, 2014 at 7:57

I managed to install it via Run as Administrator WITHOUT turning off UAC. When I ran VB6, I got an error saying it could not register the msvbvm60.dll. If that happens, simply open an administrative command prompt and run regsvr32 "C:\Windows\SysWOW64\msvbvm60.dll". It will succeed, and then VB6 will open without errors. – Astound 28/3, 2015 at 21:25

@Astound - do you think that is simpler than simply turning UAC off? - I don't. And what else hasn't registered correctly that you don't yet know about? – Cicatrize 2/10, 2015 at 9:41

First off, I never thought I would google "Visual Basic 6 on Windows 7". But I did, and this answer helped me alot. Thanks. – Mukerji 16/10, 2015 at 9:19

For anyone who cannot turn off UAC the way Microsoft's instructions provide (i.e. you have user permissions problems), see this SO question which describes a total of four different ways to turn UAC off. – Edessa 30/6, 2016 at 21:39

Additionally, I believe you should credit the original author since at least some of this is copied word for word. – Edessa 30/6, 2016 at 22:43

Correction: the question I linked isn't in SO, it's posted in Super User :) – Edessa 7/7, 2016 at 21:13

Very important - Clear the checkbox for Data Access. If you don't, set up will hang at the end of the installation. Not sure for the real reason, but the theory is that setup is trying to register with Windows on a non-existent service. Clearing the Data Access checkbox stops this registration attempt. – Advert 22/10, 2016 at 18:31

Created the zero byte file MSJAVA.DLL in the c:/windows folder. The setup program nonetheless asked to install Java and would not let me proceed if the checkbox was unchecked. Any help would be appreciated. – Minta 9/11, 2016 at 21:8

Same issue as @Cymro... Installing this from an ISO is no help either. I let it try to install virtual JAVA and reboot. When it returns to the OS it tries to run the setup again from the CD that is no longer mounted... :/ Thus far this solution has been a bust! – Gayegayel 11/1, 2017 at 21:32

Aparently the only way around JAVA install when trying to install on Windows 10 is to download a copy of MSJAVA.DLL from another source (I found one on raymond.ccthen did a virus scan on it. So just Google raymond.cc msjava.dll should be the first result.). Once you have that file put it in the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 folder then try to run the setup again. – Gayegayel 11/1, 2017 at 21:44

Isn't the default location C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98 ? – Gallop 13/5, 2018 at 22:21

I've installed and use VB6 for legacy projects many times on Windows 7.

What I have done and never came across any issues, is to install VB6, ignore the errors and then proceed to install the latest service pack, currently SP6.

Download here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5721

Bonus: Also once you install it and realize that scrolling doesn't work, use the below: http://www.joebott.com/vb6scrollwheel.htm

Obligatory answered 8/5, 2012 at 9:10 Comment(3)

Regarding scrolling not working: A good mouse driver takes care of that, and in case you don't have one, there's an official addin from Microsoft for that. – Exemplary 8/5, 2012 at 9:41

Check this link. It's explain step by step. very simple guide.Install Visual Basic 6 (VB6) on Windows 7 / Windows 8** – Kellen 19/5, 2014 at 11:33

I wasn't able to get the scrolling to work using the URL in this answer. But it works following the instructions at this URL: support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/837910/… – Torp 19/11, 2018 at 19:58

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